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Oberholser is a WD

By: Bob Baptist

The Columbus Dispatch - September 11, 2013 07:03 PM

Arron Oberholser, whose struggle to return to the PGA Tour from a series of surgeries on his left hand and wrist was featured in The Dispatch today, withdrew from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship during his pro-am round this afternoon.

Oberholser withdrew during a severe-weather suspension but returned to the Ohio State Scarlet Course to finish the round with his amateur partners after play resumed.

“My hand just can’t go. It hurts on every swing,” he said during the delay. “The whole hand is just achy, tired and sore, from the knuckles to the lower part of the wrist.”

Oberholser, 38, first injured the wrist in April 2007, when he ranked among the top 30 money-winners on the PGA Tour. He said he had four surgeries to repair or remove bones and ligaments, and was “cut on” eight or nine times in all, between late 2007 and August 2010.

He said the hand felt fine in the first event of the Web.com Tour Finals two weeks ago in Fort Wayne, Ind., his first tournament since March. But playing more than one week at a time has proved problematic. He also withdrew from the second leg of the Finals last week in Davidson, N.C.

“If I can’t get through two or three in a row, what’s the use of coming out and playing one week and having to take the next two or three weeks off to rest the hand?” he said.

“I feel like I’ve pretty much exhausted all efforts and all things I can do. Now it may be a matter of the ‘r-word’ (retirement).

“I’m fine with that. I’ve thought about that a lot, and if that’s the case and I decide to do that, then I’ll accept it. There might be a little bitterness. I won’t lie about that. Five of my best years were taken away from me. But it’s professional sport and these kinds of things happen. I’m not the only guy who this has happened to.”

Oberholser, who has a degree in broadcast journalism from San Jose State, has done some on-air work with Golf Channel this year and said that might be what he does next.